It was a pretty busy Saturday night in the NBA as 22 teams were in action. There were 11 games played as we saw some interesting matchups, including the one between the Thunder and the Jazz. The Utah Jazz hosted the Oklahoma City Thunder at Vivint Smart Home Arena in front of a sellout crowd of more than 18,000 fans. Entering this game, the Thunder had won three previous meetings against the Jazz. Oklahoma improved its roster in comparison to the last season, and they were the favorites to win the matchup on Saturday night as well.
Great team win for the Jazz
Utah opened up the game much better than their visitors. They outscored the Thunder 21-14 in the first quarter, and early in the second period, they increased their lead up to 15 points (31-16). The Jazz went on to outscore Oklahoma 23-20 in the second period as well and they held a 44-34 lead at halftime. Midway through the third quarter, the home squad held an 11-point lead (58-47) and heading into the final period of the game the Jazz were in front 73-57. Even though Oklahoma outscored Utah 30-23 in the fourth quarter, the Jazz managed to survive in this one as they took a 96-87 victory.
Joe Ingles was the key player for Utah in their win against Oklahoma. Ingles played 27 minutes and finished the game with 19 points, three rebounds, and two assists.
Ricky Rubio added 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Rudy Gobert finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz.
Carmelo Anthony led the way for the Thunder with 26 points on the night. Paul George added 22 points and five rebounds, while Russell Westbrook scored just 6 points but also added 13 rebounds and nine assists.
Spurs take the low-scoring affair against the Bulls
The Chicago Bulls played earlier this week and lost their season opener against the Toronto Raptors. On Saturday night, they hosted the San Antonio Spurs, hoping to get their first win of the season. Chicago opened up the game with a 21-point first quarter, holding San Antonio to just 19 points in the period.
But it was San Antonio with the lead at halftime, as the score was 41-38 for the away squad. The Spurs outscored the Bulls 24-17 in the third quarter as they took control of this game. They held a 65-55 lead heading into the final period of the game. Teams went back and forth in the final 12 minutes of the game, but the Spurs managed to come out on top with an 87-77 victory.
LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs to the victory on Saturday night. Aldridge finished the game with 28 points and 10 rebounds in 33 minutes of action. Rudy Gay added 12 points, while Pau Gasol contributed with 10 points and seven rebounds.
For the Bulls, it was Robin Lopez with 16 points who led them in scoring. Justin Holiday added 15 points and three assists, while Lauri Markkanen scored 13 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for Chicago.
